Russia

Ridicule, ostracization, a failing economy – The Economist admits that regarding Putin “as a success might seem bleakly comical.” But is the West misjudging him? There are two Intelligence Squared U.S. debates that have explored Russia’s power struggle in depth over the last decade: “Russia Is Becoming Our Enemy Again” (2007) and “Russia Is A Marginal Power” (2014).

My latest column for the Huffington Post challenges conventional wisdom that deflation is bad. On the contrary, deflation driven by the rapid decline in oil prices is good news for America. Declining oil prices are, for the average family, the economic equivalent of a large tax cut. This is one “gift horse” we shouldn’t be looking in the mouth.